(1) Summary of the Invention
The present invention relates to a live roller conveyor apparatus which uses belts to drive the rollers. In particular the present invention relates to a conveyor apparatus with a chain driving a sprocket with a drive wheel for the belt wherein the belts can be easily removed from the drive wheel and replaced.
(2) Prior Art
The prior art has described various chain driven, live roller conveyor apparatus. Illustrative are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,593 to Leach; 4,473,149 to Vogt et al; 4,488,639 to Vogt et al; and 4,572,358 to Swain. None of these conveyor apparatus include a belt for driving the rollers.
The belt driven, live roller conveyor apparatus are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,650,375 to Fleischauer et al, 3,840,110 to Molt et al; 4,196,312 to DeGood et al; 4,238,029 to Pirro; 4,278,166 to Pirro; 4,335,715 to Chorlton; 4,362,238 to Rivette; and 4,372,442 to Fleischauer. Each of these conveyor apparatus has a shaft which is mounted along the pass line to tension and drive the belts. In all but Fleischauer U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,442 the shaft must be removed to change the belts to provide a solid ring or a split belt must be welded together around the shaft. Split belts come apart much more readily than solid ring belts without a joint.
Fleischauer U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,442 attempts to solve the problem of belt replacement by providing an idler pulley for the belt. This construction has not been found to work well because the belts tend to come off the idler pulley. The problem is thus to be able to easily change the belts in the conveyor apparatus.